July 19, 2010

Quirks

Everyone has their quirks, you know, those little (or sometimes very big) habits that make them, well, them. I've done a little brainstorming and come up with a few of mine.

Whenever I read a story to the kids and accidentally read a sentence the wrong way and leave a word out, I go back and say the words under my breath so they don't feel left out.

Food - prepared food like stuff that's frozen or dairy products - must have an expiration date or I will not consume it.

Leftovers annoy me. I rarely, if ever, eat them.

I will eat no food with an expiration date of September 11th.

I'm vaguely phone-phobic. I don't really enjoy talking on the phone at all.

All of my CDs are organized alphabetically by artist (last name first, in the case of individuals) and, if there's more than one CD by that artist, chronologically.

I lock my car even when its in my garage. Ostensibly I do it to prevent the kids from getting in should they wander out into the garage.

My favorite number is 18. I believe the 18th day of each month will be awesome.

I get chills when I pass some people. I think I'm able to sense when they're bad.

And there you have it - a few of my quirks. You learned something today. Now share. What are yours?

Posted by Chris at July 19, 2010 7:06 AM

Comments

was yesterday awesome?

Posted by: RD at July 19, 2010 7:29 AM

I too would like to know if yesterday was awesome. I hope so! :)
Umm...sometimes, when I'm shopping, I feel the need to "face" the shelves, that is, tidy them up and make things aligned and facing the right direction.
I really suck at sleeping. Not so much a quirk, there, as it is an expression of frustration because ARRRGH it's 4:55am and I can't sleep! Wah! I think I'm gonna take a relaxing hot shower and try again. Wish me luck!

I lock my car doors everywhere (my relatives who live far from civilization find this hilarious). I use my turn signal when turning ANY corner, even in parking lots and even if nobody is within 3 miles of me. I apologize to inanimate objects if I bump them.

That's probably enough for now. ;-)

Posted by: Sandy at July 19, 2010 8:36 AM

I've mentioned this before, but I have to eat small items in even numbers. Tic-tacs, M&Ms, popcorn, etc. If there isn't an even number, I usually bite the last one in half to make it even.

I also have a weird color-pairing-preference things with skittles and M&Ms, but it's too long and complicated to explain.

I stop watches and I also appear to have some sort of electrical thing happening that no one can explain that causes problems with cell phones, cordless phones and computers.
I used to be afraid of Friday the 13th, until the worst day of my life was Thursday the 13th.

I have too many to mention, but the worst one (as I'm mostly over sorting sugar packets at restaurants) is that I get the heebie jeebies touching flour. Massive, nauseating heebie jeebies.

Posted by: Rai at July 19, 2010 12:06 PM

Hm. Well, I'm a neatnik, but that's gone by the way since I live with 5 other people, 4 of whom are 13 and under and the other just doesn't give a $hit. I fold my bath towel in thirds when I hang it up every day. The toilet paper MUST go over the top. I hang my shirts all facing to the left and by color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, gray, black, white).

I, too, alphabetize my CDs by artist, and chronologically within the artist. Movie soundtracks, I use the title of the movie as the artist, so that Beauty and the Beast (movie soundtrack first, then the stage version, natch) follows the Beatles. Various-artist compilations go at the end, organized by album title. Christmas music has its own section.

My major quirk is that I have this overwhelming need to fix everything. My mother was a crazy, single mother who never faced her issues. I took on her role with my sisters and took charge of them and the house.

Love this! I have some of your quirks: Food has to have an expiration date; I refuse to eat leftovers (what a waste); My CDs are organized the same way; I obsessively lock my car, which everyone finds hysterical. I also share some of your readers quirks: Must eat food in an even number, (or a multiple of 5), if there is a leftover, it's trashed; I also apologize to things when I bump in to them.

I also have a routine I follow every night to make sure all the windows and doors are locked. Even in the dead of winter I do this knowing that the windows have not been opened in months. You'd think that this would prevent me from leaving me keys hanging out the deadbolt outside, but no...it doesn't.

Posted by: js at July 19, 2010 2:16 PM

Totally with you on the phone thing.

I have to have the buttons on my duvet cover at the bottom of the bed. It's just not right otherwise. I think you call them comforters in the US?

I can only eat an even number of cookies, unless they are homemade chocolate chip cookies, in which case I eat three.

All of my CDs and DVDs are arranged alphabetically.

My books are grouped by author but not alphabetized.

I count stairs. There are 16 steps from my 1st floor to my 2nd floor, but only 14 from the 1st floor down to the basement. Knowing this came in handy when my kids where babies and I couldn't necessarily see where I was going when I was carrying them around the house.

Posted by: Mary at July 19, 2010 3:52 PM

I have to finish any book I start. No matter how bad it is.

I don't tell my kids what I'm making for dinner. My mom would always say, "you'll see" when we asked, and I've inherited that obnoxious tendency.

I hate answering the phone. I get annoyed when it rings because I don't want to get up or stop what I'm doing to answer it. I'd rather the caller be told I'm not available if someone else deigns to answer it.

I don't do voicemail. My husband can't understand, but I keep telling him I'll communicate by text, but not voicemail. Don't leave one. My box is full from anonymous pre-recorded messages and i'm not deleting them or sorting through them.

I think I'm becoming a hermit.

Posted by: Lojo at July 19, 2010 4:25 PM

I can't handle the sound of other people eating, it has the power to make me feel physically sick. It's ok if I'm eating too - but if it's all I can hear it is ALL I can hear and I have to leave the room.

I can suppress the urge and make nice most of the time, but if I'm tired and my reserves are low. Can't deal.

Where to start? I have many of the alphabetised issues that you and your readers have but I also have a colour co-ordinated issue in addition to the order of eating m&ms. If hanging laundry out to dry, each item MUST have matching pegs that co-ordinate with the item in which they are securing. As a result, laundry is much easier dried when on clothes hangers, the rules with hangers are much less complicated - kids clothes on kid sized hangers, mine on plastic hangers as the thought of touching an old wire hanger that may be rusty makes me nauseous. Apparently this is an inherited issue I suffer along with my mother and many cousins!

I hate salads made at home but I love eating salad when at a restaurant. I have no idea why. Same ingredients=same salad, or so you would think.

I can only see what is in plain sight. When looking for something, I seem to forget that some things are BEHIND other things. This is true for near items in the fridge, and far items, like on a street. For example, if item A is located behind item B, item A does not exist.

The number 23 comes up in my life a lot. Some times good, some times bad, but frequent.

Ok, I was born on the 18th, so I agree with you, 18 rocks!!
I'm not a religious person, but I still say The Lord's Prayer each and every time I'm on my way to work. If I don't, I fear the wrath of God and when you work in a hospital that
could be awful. I also try to avoid taking certain bed assignments or rm #'s, bad Karma..
I usually have the same breakfast every day....Crispy cold granny smith apple cut up and dipped in smooth creamy
Peter Pan peanut butter..
I never,ever,ever count the cars in a funeral procession. That one can be dangerous when driving, but I still look away as best I can. (My great grandmother instilled the fear of God that to count the cars fortells the number of years you have left to live-thanks Gma)

Posted by: Christine at July 19, 2010 7:18 PM

Cookies are always eaten in 3s. Even if I end up eating the whole box, it was done in 3s.

I can't eat fresh fruit in ice cream. I can eat it if it's part of the ice cream but something like a Banana split creeps me out.

I cannot stand food going to waste. I'll keep leftovers in the fridge and will eat them myself all week long just so I don't have to throw them away.

I eat the same thing for breakfast every day - long-cooking oatmeal with honey, cinamon, chopped nuts and a banana and a glass of milk.

Ok, that's all I can think of but I'm sure my husband could come up with quite a few if I asked him!

I don't like key changes in songs, Lionel Richie uses (or used) them a lot and it really distresses me... but he is not the only one ( and it's not like I am a fan of his anyway, I'm just using him as an example)

Posted by: Alej at July 19, 2010 10:07 PM

I'm kind of the same way as you are with books, but with songs. If I'm singing along on the radio and miss a word or two for some reason when there's a break in the lyrics I'll fill it in with what I'd missed. Odd, I know.

Wow, your commenters have some great quirks : ) Usually I hate that I'm always last to read your posts, but not today!

I used to have all my cd's in alphabetical/chronological order, but since my daughter's been borrowing them and putting them back all over the place... now I just avoid them altogether - I'm in cd placement denial : )

Whenever I turn things over in the oven or on the grill I have to count them - goodness knows why.

When I fold the clean washing I put all the individual socks together in a pile and pair them up at the end - I can't bear the idea of wasting time looking for a mate for one that I'm going to find at the bottom of the basket anyway. That 3 seconds? Not going to get that back...

If I'm watching a tv series and miss an episode or especially if I miss two, I can't keep watching from the next one, I just stop altogether. I can't bear the thought that things have happened I don't know about! I say I'll catch up on DVD, but that hasn't happened yet (goodbye Gray's Anatomy, House, Weeds... I miss you!)

Posted by: Jo MacD at July 19, 2010 11:45 PM

I alphabetize my cds as well. I lock the car in the garage too. Hmm... quirks - people think I'm odd because I have a lock on the fence around my pool. True, it's low enough that someone could climb over it easily enough, but I don't want a kid to just wander in.... I talk to the dog - alot... I always sign my name with my middle initial... I get annoyed when people call me Miss or Mrs. Winters. Technically Miss implies I've never been married and Mrs. implies I have been married. I'm divorced, so therefore I'm technically Ms.
Also, I don't like to eat Blue things. Blue drinks, ice cream, etc.

Hope the 18th was a good day for you :-) Have loved reading about everyone's quirks! Here are a few of mine:

* I have a routine every week day morning. There are a certain set of things that get done first thing that if I forget one of them it totally throws me off.
* I do a lot of cross stitch (my hobby and a passion). I have all my threads stored in special boxes, by brand and in numerical order (each thread colour has a code). The same applies even if I pack some stuff to travel. It freaks me out to organise by colour only.
* I can't stand fingerprints on stainless steel or any surface that shows them up easily. I have to wipe the surface clean.
*Having curtains or blinds open after the sun sets freaks me out.
* When I wash dishes they must be done in this order: glasses, cutlery, plates & dishes, pots & pans, pet dishes. It makes me edgy if I don't, or if someone else washes up 'out of sequence'.
* A quirk I didn't even know I had until hubby pointed it out to me: before I open a can of cooldrink, I tap it exactly 3 times, open it, and the blow on it slightly as if it is a hot drink.
* And a quirk developed out of habit: If someone asks for my name (e.g. for an appointment) I state it and then automatically spell it out even if person hasn't asked. Ditto for our street address.
* I always eat one food at a time from my plate - i.e. don't mix anything - and almost always eat any veggies first.
* I eat left-handed (with my knife & fork reversed to how other people do) but I swap hands to cut food, and then swap back to pick up what I just cut and eat it. This means that during a meal I swap the cutlery between my hands a ridiculous number of times. For me it's normal. To other people I look 'special' when I eat.

Hubby has some quirks of his own too, mostly food related.
* Any food to be consumed must be at least 5 days away from the expiry date or he won't touch it.
* No food on the bone (except ribs for some weird reason) or things like stews that may have bone in it.
* He refuses point blank to drink any cooldrink that only has a third of a bottle or less remaining. He will rather open a new bottle than drink from the last third.

I think that is enough quirkiness for now :-)

Posted by: Delia at July 20, 2010 3:45 AM

-on the plate, foods must not touch, with casseroles being the exception
-whenever i'm about to jump into a pool, i'm always scared i'll have a heart attack because the change in temperatures will be too much of a shock to my body
-when stressed i count everything (steps, street lights, etc)
so many more, so little time.

I have an aversion to unprotected left turns. I often wait at the light in to my neighborhood, causing me to make two extra turns, instead of going to the next intersection and having to make a left turn without the light.

I eat my M&Ms in color order. Skittles, too.

I like fresh peaches but refuse to eat or drink anything that is peach-flavored.

My socks always coordinate with my outfit, even if I am wearing boots (and the socks can't be seen) or if I am in my pajamas.

The radio presets in my car go in ascending order. If I choose a new station and to add and it falls between two stations I already like, I will reprogram in order to keep the stations in order.

Posted by: MamaKaren at July 20, 2010 10:31 AM

My son-in-law ALWAYS takes one pickle slice out of his hamburger and sets it aside so that he will be sure to have a pickle in his last bite. He has a sock routine that you wouldn't believe. It takes him at least 5 minutes to put on a pair of socks. It is impossible for him to pull into a parking spot without stopping, backing up, and pulling in straighter, even if the car was perfectly straight to begin with. He is the most quirky in our family, and even so, a great guy!

Posted by: Pat at July 20, 2010 3:25 PM

My body language changes completely when I am near someone I think is bad. My friend asked me what was wrong and I told her I thought the guy in the elevator with us was a child molester.

I don't eat stuff with an expiration of June 21, for personal reasons.

I'm the same way with leftovers. My husband, on the other hand, will eat anything in the fridge. My kids and I have gotten to the point where instead of jotting a note on a take out box that says what exactly is in the box, we just write "old food for dad" on the box.
Mmm... old food.
... and I prefer to sort my CD's by type of music.

Posted by: Kim at July 21, 2010 9:59 AM

when i'm driving, i jump over the shadows that cross all the way across the road by opening and closing my teeth a little.

i play music in my head with my fingers and toes. that's normal, but i have half notes in between my fingers and toes and a few extra notes that i can't even explain.

i can't stand the sounds of people eating or breathing. sitting in a theater with people eating popcorn is torture. i have a fan in our bedroom so i don't hear any breathing at night. if i am stuck on a plane next to someone chewing gum i practically have a panic attack.

i hate most leftovers, too, and don't care what expiration dates are, i can only eat something within a day or two of eating it after it's been in the fridge...

I make note of patterns in flooring, walls, ceilings, licence plates, odometer readings...

I am fine stepping on cracks, but often notice myself hopping over the projection of lines perpendicular to doorways, corners (in the hall).

I have to touch the wall as I'm walking down a hall. Filing cabinets if that forms the wall.

11:11 doesn't do anything for me, but I get a excited when I see the clock says 12:34 (even reading it here is thrilling!) My husband will point it out for me if he sees it.

I laughed when I read "toilet paper has to go over". That's so much of a thing for me that it angers me that someone might put it the other way. That's just wrong and stupid. I mean, you can't grab it!!! COME ON, PEOPLE!!!

There are a bunch of eating ones, but that's enough. I have to say though, that you're asking the internet. Normal people without "things" aren't even here. ;-)

The name is Cactus, Chris Cactus. I'm married to Beth Fish and for some strange reason the universe has entrusted me with two kids - The Mia Bean and Owen (who has yet to get a cool nickname that's stuck). I've made hats, painted houses, designed websites, and built networks for a living but now I'm your average IT security geek. I like my coffee black, my politics liberal, my music loud and my books, well, I just like books.